Door lock



N. A. WELCH DOOR LOCK 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 5, 1964 I I I I I I II I I r I I I I a .I

0 8 1 5 6 a. I 4 I @U HT? I W E I a I i] I= v I I mhawhm FE 1/ pm June13. 1967 A. WELCH DOOR LOCK 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept- 3, 1964IIIIII'IIIIIIIIJIA' IN V EN T 0R. MCHOLHS A V1451. CH.

United States Patent 3,324,692 DOOR LOCK NichOlas A. Welch, WestHartford, onn., assignor to Emhart Corporation, Bloomfield, C0nn., acorporation of Connecticut Filed Sept. 3, 1964, Ser. No. 394,275 12Claims. (CI. 70-92) This invention relates to door locks of the typegenerally referred to in the trade as emergency-exit locks, and morespecifically to emergency-exit locks of the vertical rod type such asgenerally include a top and a bottom attach unit and an intermediate,panic-bar actuated mechanism that is operatively connected to said latchunits by rods disposed vertically on the door. 7

Locks of the present type are most commonly used on outwardly openingexit doors of public buildings, such as schools, hospitals, theatres andthe like, Where large numbers of people can be expected to gather, topermit quick and easy egress from the building at all times andparticularly in the event of panic resulting from fire or similarcauses. Such locks are especially intended for application to singledoors where top and bottom latching is desired and to a pair of doorsnot equipped with a mullion or an astragal. They are also commonlyapplied to the inactive leaf of a pa r of doors where the active leafcarries an astragal and is equipped with an emergencyexit fixture of themortise type. Of course, such locks also have other practicalapplications, but the foregoing examples represent the most common typesof installations.

The latchbolt retracting mechanism of such locks is, for reasons ofsafety, operable at all times by means of the panic'bar. Said panic-barextends horizontally across the inner side of the door and is supportedby a pair of operating levers, one of which is .pivotally mounted on anactive lock case, that is, the lock case which carries the latchboltretracting mechanism, and the other of which is pivotally mounted on aninactive or supporting case which is secured to the inner side of thedoor opposite the active case. Preferably, the latchbolts are retractedby depressing the panic-bar since this will insure automatic retractionof the latchbolts should people crowd against the inside of the door.

In addition to the basic function which merely provides for panic-barretraction of the latchbolts from the inner side of the door, it isgenerally necessary to furnish emergencyexit locks of the present typewith mechanism permitting retraction of the latchbolts from the outerside of the door by manually operable means. The manually operable meansis usually in the form of a knob or a thumbpiece which is mounted on theouter face of the door, and in functions including a knob or athumbpiece, key operated means such as a conventional pin-tumbler lockcylinder are usually provided on the outer side of the door forselectively rendering the manually operable means operable orinoperable. In any event, it is important to provide an emergency-exitlock which can easily be adapted to a variety of different functions.

It is also extremely important that the emergency-exit lock be readilyadaptable to doors of either hand and easily reversed in the field ifnecessary. If the lock is not reversiblein other words, if the lock ishandedit is necessary to provide two distinct types of active cases forthe lock, one for right hand doors and another for left hand doors. Notonly does this materially increase the cost of manufacture, but it alsocomplicates the factory assembly of the lock and its installation in thefield.

In addition, it is important to provide emergency-exit locks of thevertical rod type with means for holding the latchbolts in retractedposition while the door is open. This is especially true forinstallations where there is no threshold plate at the bottom of thedoor since if the bottom latchbolt were allowed to project, it woulddrag along the door as the door swings toward closed position andeventually cause an unsightly mark on the floor. It is also desirable tohave the latchbolts remain in retracted position so that they will notinterfere with the closing movement of the door. However, means shouldbe provided for readily rendering the holdback means inoperable.

Accordingly, it is a principal object of the present invention toprovide an emergency-exit lock which can be used on both right and lefthand doors.

Another important object of the present invention is to provide anemergencyexit lock which permits quick and easy reversal of the activeand inactive cases in the field, even by unskilled persons.

Still another object of the invention is to provide an emergency-exitlock in which the active and inactive mechanisms can be reversedrelatively to the operating levers on the panic-bar, thereby permittingfacile adaption of the lock to either a right or a left hand door.

Another and very important object of the invention is to provide anemergency-exit lock in which reversal does not require removal of theoperating levers from their pivotal mountings.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an extremely novellatchbolt retracting mechanism for emergency-exit locks which is adaptedfor panic-bar operation alone and with which other components may beused to obtain a variety of different functions.

An additional object of the invention is the provision of anemergency-exit lock of the vertical rod type in which the latchbolts maybe retracted from the outer side of the door by a knob or a thumbpieceand in which key operable means are provided for selectively disablingthe knob or thumbpiece when it is desired to prevent retraction of thelatchbolts thereby.

Still another object of the invention is to provide an emergency-exitlock of the vertical rod type wherein the top and bottom latch units mayeasily be adjusted for use on doors with or without a threshold plate.

A further object is to provide such a lock having selectively operableholdback means for holding the latchbolts in retracted position and inwhich said holdback means, if effective, are automatically released topermit the latchbolts to engage their respective keepers when the doorreaches its substantially fully closed position.

Another object of the invention is to provide a vertical rodemergency-exit lock incorporating means which permit the top and bottomrods to be both out to the proper length and assembled on the job andwherein novel means are provided for attaching the upper rod to the toplatch unit.

A very important object of the invention is to provide top and bottomlatch units for the lock in which the latchbolts are adapted togradually move into projected position and wedge themselves tightlyagainst their respective keepers to minimize latching noises and preventthe door from rattling.

Another, but by no means final, object of the invention is to provide avertical rod emergency-exit lock in which many of the same componentsmay be used for the active and the inactive cases.

The foregoing and other objects and advantages of the invention will beapparent from the following description and the accompanying drawings inwhich:

FIG. 1 is an elevational view of the inside face of a door having anemergency-exit lock embodying the present invention mounted thereon.

FIG. 2 is a sectional side view of the inactive case of said lock.

FIG. 3 is an elevational front view of the base section of said inactivecase with the cover thereof removed.

FIG. 4 is a sectional plan view on line 44 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a sectional side view of the active case of said lock, showingthe same mounted on a door equipped with a thumbpiece and an outsidecylinder.

FIG. 6 is an elevational front view of the base section of said activecase with the cover thereof removed.

FIG. 7 is a sectional plan view on line 77 of FIG. 5.

FIG. 8 is a sectional front view of the base section of the active casefurther illustrating the mechanism contained therein.

FIG. 9 is an elevational front view illustrating. the operation of thekey controlled means provided in said active case for disabling thethumbpiece.

FIG. 10 is a sectional plan view on line 10-10 of FIG. 9.

FIG. 11 is a fragmentary elevational side view illustrating the mannerin which the vertical rods are attached to the mechanism of said activecase.

FIG. 12 is an elevational front view of the assembly shown in FIG. 11.

FIG. 13 is a plan view of the top latch unit with the cover thereofshown in section.

FIG. 14 is a side view of said top latch unit, also with the coverthereof shown in section.

FIG. 15 is a sectional plan view of said top latch unit taken on line15-15 of FIG. 16, but with the cover thereof removed.

FIG. 16 is a sectional side view further illustrating said top latchunit.

FIG. 17 is a front view thereof with the cover shown in section.

FIG. 18 is an elevational front view of said top latch unit.

FIG. 19 is a sectional side view of said top latch unit showing thelatch bolt thereof in the retracted position which it occupies when theholdback means is inoperable.

FIG. 20 is a similar view of said top latch unit illustrating theoperation of said holdback means.

FIG. 21 is an isometric view of the slide for said top latch unit.

FIG. 22 is a sectional side view illustrating the means I have devisedfor attaching the end of the upper vertical rod to said top latch unit.

FIG. 23 is a sectional bottom view thereof.

FIG. 24 is a side view of the bottom latch unit showing the coverthereof in section.

FIG. 25 is a side view of said bottom latch unit in central verticalsection.

FIG. 26 is a front view of said bottom latch unit showing the coverthereof in section.

FIG. 27 is an isometric View of the slide for said bottom latch unit.

FIG. 28 is a sectional side view further illustrating said bottom latchunit.

FIG. 29 is a diagrammatic side view illustrating the formation of thelatchbolt for said bottom latch unit.

FIG. 30 is a similar view of the latchbolt for the top latch unit.

Briefly state, this invention contemplates an emergencyeXit lock of thevertical rod type in which the active and inactive cases each consist ofa base section which is adapted to be fastened to a door and a covermember which is detachably secured to the base section. The covermembers form part of the operating unit for the lock which includes, inaddition, a pair of operating levers pivotally mounted one on each ofsaid covers and an elongated panic-bar which is afiixed at its oppositeends to said levers.

The base section of the active case carries the latchbolt retractingmechanism of the lock and said mechanism is connected to top and bottomlatch units adapted to be mounted, respectively, adjacent the upper andlower edges of the door by a pair of vertical rods. Means are providedin said mechanism for selective engagement by a finger on each of theoperating levers to eifect retraction of the latchbolts when thepanic-bar is depressed. The mechanism in the active base section alsoincludes means adapted for operation from the outer side of the door bya knob or a thumbpiece to effect retraction of said latchbolts and meansoperable by a key to render said knob or thumbpiece inoperable.

The base section for the inactive case carries spring means for biasingthe operating levers and the panic-bar toward their normal positions andsaid spring means are also adapted to be engaged with either of thefingers on the operating levers.

Except for the mechanism carried thereby, the active and inactive basesections of the present lock are substantially identical to the activeand inactive base sections of the lock shown and described in mycopending application Ser. No. 389,108, filed Aug. 12, 1964, and nowaban doned. This is also true of the case covers, operating levers andpanic-bar which go to make up the operating unit of the lock. Hence thecase structure of this lock will be only briefly described herein. Itshould be stated, however, that each of said case covers is adapted tobe assembled to either the active or the inactive base section and eachof said operating levers is adapted to operatively engage either thelatchbolt retracting mechanism or the biasing spring, as the case maybe. Stated conversely, the base sections for the active and inactivecases are adapted to be interchanged between the covers and theoperating levers carried thereby to adapt the lock to a particular handof door, thereby obviating the necessity of disassemling the operatinglevers or the latchbolt retracting mechanism to reverse the lock as inprior devices of this type. This extremely novel feature greatlysimplifies the manufact-ure and assembly of the lock, thereby effectingconsiderable savings in manufacturing costs, and permits facileinstallation or reversal of the lock in the field.

Referring now to the drawing, in FIG. 1 I have illustrated a righthand-reverse bevel door 5 having mounted on its inner side one of myimproved emergency-exit locks. Said lock includes an active case 6, aninactive case 7, a top latch unit 8, a bottom latch unit 9, upper andlower vertical rods 10 and 11, respectively, which connect the latchunits to the active case and a panic-bar 12 which extends transverselyacross the face of the door. The said active and inactive cases aresubstantially identical, wit-h the exception of the mechanism containedtherein, and can be assembled for application to either side of the doorwithout alteration of said mechanism due to the improvements provided bymy present invention.

As shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4, the said inactive case includes a basesection 13 having a base plate 14 on which are mounted upper and lowerbrackets 15 and 16, respectively. These brackets carry a pair of spaced,vertically extending, parallel bars 17-17 which slidably support a slide18 that is biased downwardly by a pair of springs 19-19, one of whichsurrounds each of said bars and is anchored against the bracket 15. Anoperating lever 20, which is secured to one end of the panic-bar 12, ispivotally mounted on a supporting cover 21 by a shaft 22 and has afinger 23 which engages an abutment 24 on the slide 18 and through whichthe springs 1919 act to bias the lever 20 and the panic-bar 12 to normalraised position.

The active case 6 (see FIGS. 5 to 8) includes a base section 25 which isidentical in shape to the base section 13 and contains a base plate 26having mounted thereon brackets 27 27 which support spaced, verticallydisposed, parallel bars 2828. Said bars slidably support a slide 29 inthe form of a substantially flat plate 29 to the upper and lower ends ofwhich are attached the ends of the upper and lower vertical rods 10 and11, said rods passing through openings 25a25a formed in the basesection. The slide is biased downwardly by its own weight and the weightof the elements which are connected to it. However, an auxiliary weight29a is preferably provided on one or both of the rods 28 to insureproper operation of the slide. A supporting cover 30 identical to thecover 21 is mounted on the base section 25 and carries an operatinglever 31 which is identical to the lever 20, but of the opposite hand.Said lever 31 is pivotally mounted on said cover by a shaft 32 and isalso connected to the panic-bar 12. Said operating lever has a finger 33which engages the underside of an abutment 34 on the slide 29 forlifting said slide and the rods 10' and 11 when the panic-bar isdepressed to cause actuation of the top and bottom latch units 8 and 9,as will be hereinafter described.

The manually operable means that I have shown for retracting thelatchbolts from the outer side of the door 5 include a thumbpiece 35which is pivotally mounted in an escutcheon 36 that is secured to theouter face of the door. Said thumbpiece extends through a hole 37 insaid door and has a stern portion 38 which underlies an abutment 39 on arocker member 40 that is pivotally and longitudinally slidably mountedon the base plate 26 behind the slide 29 by means of a stud 41 which issecured to said base plate and extends through a longitudinal slot 42 insaid rocker. Said rocker member is provided with a detent 43 thatprojects therefrom into an opening 44 in the slide 29. Said opening hasa vertically elongated portion 44a and a shorter, laterally offsetportion 44-!) defining a downwardly facing shoulder 45 on said slidethat is engageable by said detent 43 to connect the slide 29 to therocker member 40 for simultaneous movement therewith. The rocker member40 is shifted between its effective position shown in FIGS. 6 to 8,wherein the detent is engageable with the shoulder 45, and itsineffective position shown in FIG. 9, wherein the detent 43 is disposedin alignment with the elongated portion of the opening 44, by means ofan eccentrically mounted, circular cam 46 that is disposed in a notch40a formed in the upper end of said rocker member. Said cam is rotatablymounted on the shank of an operating finger 47 that is, in turn,rotatably mounted in the base plate 26 and arranged to engage spacedstuds 48-48 on said cam to effect rotation thereof in oppositedirection. The operating finger 47 is adapted to be rotated by aconnecting link 49 extending from the key plug of a conventional lockcylinder 50, said key plug being operable from the outer side of thedoor by a suitable key 51. The studs 48-48 provide a lost motionconnection between the finger 47 and the cam 46 which permits the keyplug of the lock cylinder to be returned to shed position without movingthe cam after the rocker member has been shifted to either its effectiveor ineffective position.

The top latch unit illustrated in FIGS. 13 to 21, includes an elongatedcasing 52 having side walls 53-53 with forward extensions 54-54 at thetop thereof between which a latchbolt 55 is pivotally mounted by meansof a pivot pin 56, the said latchbolt having a stop 55-a which engagesan abutment 52-a on the casing to limit movement of said latchbolt toits projected position. A slide 57 is slidably retained in said casingby flanges 58-58 and has opposed cam grooves 59-59 in the side wallsthereof which receive rollers 60-69 projecting from the opposite sidesof the latchbolt. A yoke 61 straddles the side walls of the casing 52and is detachably secured thereto by means of prongs 62-62 which snapinto openings 63-63 in said side walls. The front portion 64 of saidyoke has a centrally located threaded hole 65 to receive a screw 66 forsecuring the cover 67 of said latch unit to the casing 52.

The slide 57 of said top latch unit carries a connector 68 that issecured to the slide by a pin 69 which extends through holes 70-70 inthe opposite side walls of said slide and through slots 71-71 in theside walls of the casing 52, said connector being provided for securingthe upper vertical rod 10 to the slide in the manner hereinafter fullydescribed.

As shown in FIGS. 24 and 28, the bottom latch unit 9 includes anelongated casing 72 having side walls 73-73 with forward extensions74-74 at the bottom thereof between which a latchbolt 75 is pivotallymounted by means of a pivot pin 76 that extends through said extensions,the said latchbolt having a stop 77 which engages an abutment 78 on thecasing 72 for limiting movement of the said latchbolt to its projectedposition as clearly shown in FIG. 25.

A slide 79 is slidably mounted between the side walls of the casing 72and is connected to the lower vertical rod 11 by means of a pin 80 whichextends through openings 88-a-8l3a in the side walls of said slide andthrough slots 81 in the side walls of said casing. A yoke 82 isdetachably connected to the said casing by prongs 83 which engage holes84 in the side walls thereof, and a cover 85 is secured to said casingby means of a screw 86 which is threaded to a hole 87 disposed centrallyin the front wall of said yoke.

The latchbolt 75 is biased toward its projected position, shown in FIG.25, by a spring 88 which is anchored on said yoke 82, and the saidlatchbolt is pulled against the tension of said spring into itsretracted position by a pair of links 89-89 which are pivotally securedto the latchbolt and slidably connected to said slide 79 by means of apin 90 which extends through holes 80-b-80-b in the side walls thereofand slots 91 in the side walls of the casing 72.

It is desirable that said mechanism be supplied to the ultimate user insuch a condition that it can easily be installed on a door. To this end,the lower vertical rod 11 is supplied in a standard length and hasprovided on its lower end a connector 92 which is secured to the slide79 by the pin 8% and is threaded into an insert 93 that is secured inthe lower end of the said rod so that the effective length of the rodmay be adjusted to conform to the distance between the active case 6 andthe bottom latch unit 9 by rotating the said connector 92 in the properdirection before it is secured to the slide 79.

Reverting to FIGS. 11 and 12, the slide 29 in the active base section 25has a projection 94 at the bottom thereof and a screw 95 threadedthereto adjacent said projection. The upper end of the lower rod 11 hasa hole 96 to receive said projection 94 whereby said rod may be readilyattached to the slide by merely placing said rod over the projection 94and tightening the screw 95 against its end portion, as shown. The upperend of the slide 29 has a similar projection 97 and a screw 98 adjacentthereto and the lower end of the upper rod 10 has a hole 99 whereby itcan be fastened to the slide 29 in the same manner as the upper end ofthe lower rod 11.

In order to fasten the upper end of the upper rod 10 to the top latchunit, the connector 68 is provided with a slot 100 defining thereon apair of spaced legs 101 and 162, as shown in FIGS. 22 and 23. A sockettype screw 103 is threaded to the leg 101 and has a point 104 whichextends into a hole 105 in the leg 102, but is of a smaller diameterthan said hole. The upper end of said upper rod is secured to the toplatch unit by first cutting it to the proper length to conform to thedistance between the active case 6 and the top latch unit 8 and theninserting the said upper end of the rod into the slot 100 and rotatingthe screw 103 until the point 104 thereof penetrates the front wall ofsaid rod and forms an eyelet which extends into the hole 195. Thisfirmly secures the rod to the connector 68 as clearly illustrated inFIG. 22.

To mount the lock on the door, in the position illustrated in FIG. 1 forexample, the active and inactive base sections 13 and 25 are firstsecured to the door by screws inserted through holes 1616 in thebrackets 15-15 and 27-27 thereof, and the top and bottom latch units arethen secured to the door in their proper positions by screws insertedthrough holes 197-107 and 168-168 in the casings 52 and 72 thereof,respectively. In order to facilitate the assembly and installation ofthe latch units, the pins 69, 89 and 90 are adapted to be readilyremoved or installed through the respective slots in the side walls ofthe casings 52 and 72 and once installed are retained in their assembledpositions by the covers 67 and 85.

After the active and inactive base sections and the top see gene andbottom latch units have been mounted on the door as above described, theupper and lower vertical rods 10 and 11, respectively, are secured tosaid latch units and active case in the manner also above described. Theoperating unit, consisting of the supporting covers 21 and 30, theoperating levers 29 and 31 and the panic-bar 12, is then simply mountedin position on said base sections With the fingers 23 and 33 of therespective operating levers engaged with the abutments 24 and 34 on theslides 18 and 29, respectively, and the said covers are then secured totheir respective cases by screws, not shown, which are threaded intoholes 199 in the brackets -15 and 27-27. Decorative sc-alp 21-a and 30aare provided for concealing the covers 21 and 30 and, to complete theinstallation, these scalps are then installed in the manner fullydescribed in my above-mentioned copending application Ser. No. 389,108.

As will be evident from the foregoing description and from thedisclosure of my above identified copending application, the basesections 13 and 25 are adapted to receive either of the cover members 21or 30 and the mechanism contained in said base sections is adapted foroperative engagement with either of the fingers 23 or 33 on the leversor 31, respectively. This extremely novel arrangement renders theemergency-exit lock of this invention readily adaptable to doors ofeither hand and permits facile reversal thereof in the field.

For example, when applying the lock to a right hand door, the activebase section is mounted adjacent the right hand or free edge of the doorand the inactive base section 13 is mounted adjacent the left hand orhinged edge as shown in FIG. 1. The operating unit, which consists ofthe cover members 21 and 30, their scalps 21-a and -a and operatinglevers 20 and 31 and the panicbar 12 is then assembled to the basesections as previously described, the right hand cover member of FIG. 1being applied to the base section 25 to form the active case and theleft hand cover member being applied to the 'base section 13 to form theinactive case.

For a left hand door, the base sections 13 and 25 are reversed withrespect to the cover members 21 and 30. In this instance, however, it isnot necessary to invert the active base section as in the lock of saidcopending application. Both the base section 13 and the base section 25are adapted to operate in the position shown in FIGS. 3 and 6irrespective of the hand of the door.

After the installation has been completed, the force exerted by thesprings 13-19 in the inactive case on the finger 23 through the slide 18will bias the operating lever 20 and the panic-bar 12 to normal raisedposition. This will also retain the operating lever 31 of the activecase in its raised position and thus permit the slide 29 of the activecase to normally assume its lowermost position, as shown in FIG. 5. Whenthe said slide 29 moves into its normal position, the upper rod 10 andthe slide 57 will move downwardly therewith and cause the latchbolt tobe pivoted into its projected position by cooperation between the camgrooves 59-59 in said slide and the rollers -60 on the latchbolt, asshown in FIGS. 14 to 18. Movement of the slide 29 to its lower-mostposition will also be accompanied by downward movement of the lowervertical rod 11 and the slide 79 of the lower latch unit and therebypermit the latchbolt 75 to be pivoted to its projected position by thespring 83, as illustrated in FIGS. 24 and 26.

When pressure is applied to the panic-bar 12, against the tension of thesprings 19-19, the operating lever 31 will pivot downwardly, whereuponthe finger 33 thereof will raise the slide 29 of the active case andtherewith also raise the upper and lower vertical rods 10 and 11. Theupper rod will then raise the slide 57 of the upper latch unit and causethe latchbolt 55 thereof to be retracted by the action of the camgrooves 59-59 upon the rollers 60-60, while the lower rod will raise theslide 79 of the lower latch unit to pull on the links 89-89 0 andthereby pull the lower latchbolt 75 into its retracted position so thatthe door may be swung open.

In some installations where there is a threshold plate at the bottom ofthe door, it is desirable that the latchbolts of the top and bottomlatch units remain in their projected positions when the door is open sothat they will be retracted as they engage their respective keepers andthen be projected back, by gravity, into locking engagement with saidkeepers as the door reaches its closed position. For this purpose, thescrew 66 of the upper latch unit is prO- vided with a projection formingan abutment which will engage the latchbolt 55, as shown in FIG. 19, andstop it short of its fully retracted position so that, upon thepanic-bar being released, it will return to its projected position,whereupon the lower latchbolt will also do the same by virtue of itsconnection with the upper latchbolt through the said vertical rods andthe slide 29 of the active case. It will also be noted that the abutment34 of'the slide 29 is normally free to move away from the finger 33 ofthe operating lever 31. This will permit free upward movement of theslide 57 and thereby permit the said slide to be raised independently ofsaid operating lever as the latchbolt 55 is'forced into its retractedposition by engagement with its keeper. The raising of said slide byretraction of the latchbolt 55 will also cause the slide 79 of thebottom latch unit to be raised and thereby, through the links 89-89,cause retraction of the latchbolt 75 of said bottom unit. However, thesaid links are each provided with a slot 111 to permit said links tomove relatively to the pin 99 and thereby permit retraction of thelatchbolt 75 independently of the slide 79 and the latchbolt 55 of thetop latch unit.

' In installations where there is no threshold plate at the bottom ofthe door, it is usually desirable that the bottom latchbolt be held inretracted position until the door is fully closed so that said bolt willnot mar the floor. For this purpose, instead of the screw 66 in the toplatch unit there is substituted a threaded sleeve 112 for securing thecover 67, and a plunger 113 is provided which is slidable in said sleeveand has a stem 114 to engage the latchbolt 55, as clearly shown in FIG.20. The said stem 114 is shorter than the projection 110 of the screw 66whereby the latchbolt 55 is permitted to reach its fully retractedposition so that the rollers 63-64) engage flats 115-115 at the lowerends of the cam grooves 5-59. Thus, when the latchbolt 55 is moved toits fully retracted position, illustrated in FIG. 20, by operation ofthe panic-bar, the rollers 60-69 thereof will come to rest below theflats 115-115, in which position the axes of the rollers will besubstantially in line With their points of contact with the flats andthe pivotal axis of said latchbolt 55 whereby, when the panic-bar isreleased, the slide 57 will be supported by said rollers and retain thelatchbolt in its fully retracted position. This will also retain thelower latchbolt 75 in its retracted position by reason of the slide 79being held in its raised position through its rigid connection with theslide 57.

When the door is substantially fully closed, the plunger 113 will strikean abutment 116 on the keeper for the latchbolt 55, shown in dottedlines in FIG. 20, and swing the latchbolt so that the rollers 69-60 moveaway from the abutments 115-115 into the cam grooves 59-59 and allow theentire vertical rod assembly, to move downwardly and thereby raise thelatchbolt 55 to its projected position and also lower the bottomlatchbolt 75 to its projected position, whereby said latchbolts willengage their respective keepers just as the door reaches its fullyclosed position.

In the function illustrated in FIG. 5, the top and bottom latchbolts maybe retracted independently of the panic-bar by means of the manuallyoperable thumbpiece. When the rocker member 40 is in its effectiveposition shown in FIGS. 6 and 8, wherein the detent 43 is in registerwith the shoulder 45, depression of the thumbpiece 35 will lift therocker member and the slide 29 to effect retraction of the latchbolts 55and 75 in the same manner as when the panic-bar is depressed. However,retraction of the latchbolts from the outer side of the door may beprevented by inserting the key 51 into the key plug of the lock cylinder50 and rotating said plug in a counterclockwise direction. This willrotate the link 49 and the finger 57 which will, in turn, rotate the cam46 and tilt the rocker member to its ineffective position shown in FIG.9 wherein the detent 43 is in register with the elongated section 44-0of the opening 44 in the slide 29. Hence, should the thumbpiece now beoperated, the rocker memher will move idly up and down relatively tosaid slide. The rocker member may, of course, be returned to itseffective position by reverse rotation of the key plug.

Referring now to FIGS. 29 and 30, it will be seen that the arcuate,keeper engaging face 117 of each of the latchbolts 55 and 75 moves awayfrom the pivotal axis of the bolt as it approaches the stop thereon.This slight eccentricity is achieved by forming each of said faces on aradius 118 that is smaller than the radius 119 on which said face wouldnormally lie and extends from a center spaced from the pivotal axis ofthe bolt. Thus, as the latchbolts move toward projected position theywill engage their respective keepers with a wiping action which willretard the movement of the bolts slightly and thereby minimize thelatching poises which have heretofore been the source of numerouscomplaints with emergency-exit locks of the vertical rod type. Moreover,the eccentric faces on the bolts will cause them to cam the door tightlyinto closed position and thereby eliminate rattles.

While I have herein shown and described my invention in what I haveconceived to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it isrecognized that departures may be made therefrom within the scope of myinvention which is not to be limited to the details disclosed herein,but is to be accorded the full scope of the claims appended hereto so asto embrace any and all equivalent structures.

I claim:

1. In an emergency-exit lock, an active base section and an inactivebase section, at least one latch unit having a latchbolt therein movablebetween projected and retracted positions, a panic-bar operatedmechanism in said active base section, a vertically disposed operatingmeans for operatively connecting said mechanism to said latchbolt andoperable upon actuation of said mechanism to effect retraction of saidlatchbolt, a removable operating unit including a panic-bar having anoperating lever secured to each of its opposite ends and a pair of coverunits shaped for interchangeable mounting on either of said basesections, each having one of said operating levers pivotally mountedthereon, said mechanism being operable by the respective one of saidlevers when said active base section is mounted at either the right orthe left hand side of a door.

2. In an emergency-exit lock, an active base section, at least one latchunit having a latchbolt therein movable between projected and retractedpositions, a panic-bar operated mechanism in said active base section, avertically disposed operating means for operatively connecting saidmechanism to said latchbolt and operable upon actuation of saidmechanism to effect retraction of said latchbolt, an operating spring insaid inactive base section, a removable operating unit including apanic-bar having an operating lever secured to each of its opposite endsand a pair of cover units shaped for interchangeable mounting on eitherof said base sections, each having one of said operating leverspivotally mounted thereon, said levers being selectively operativelyengageable with either said mechanism or said spring whereby anoperative connection can be established therebetween irrespective of thehand of the door on which said base sections are mounted.

3. In an emergency-exit lock, an active base section and an inactivebase section, a top and a bottom latch unit each having a latchbolttherein movable between projected and retracted positions, a panic-baroperated mechanism in said active base section vertically disposedoperating, means for operatively connecting said mechanism to thelatchbolts of said latch units and operable upon actuation of saidmechanism to effect simultaneous retraction of said latchbolts, springmeans in said inactive base section, an operating unit including apanic-bar, a pair of operating levers secured one to each of theopposite ends of said panic-bar and a pair of cover members on each ofwhich one of said levers is pivotally mounted, each of said covermembers being shaped for interchangeable mounting on either of said basesections and each of said operating levers being operatively engageablewith either said mechanism or said spring means whereby, when saidcovers are mounted on said base sections, said mechanism will beoperable by the operating lever associated with the active base sectionand said spring means, acting through the operating lever associatedwith the inactive base section, will bias said operating levers and thepanic-bar into their normal positions.

4. In an emergency-exit lock, an active base section and an inactivebase section, each of said sections being of substantially identicalexterior configuration, a top and a bottom latch unit each having alatchbolt movable between projected and retracted positions, a panic-baroperated mechanism in said active base section, means for operativelyconnecting said mechanism to the latchbolts of said top and bottom latchunits and operable upon actuation of said mechanism to effectsimultaneous retraction of said latchbolts, spring means in saidinactive case base section, an operating unit including a panicbar, apair of substantially identical operating levers secured one to each ofthe opposite ends of said panic-bar and a pair of substantiallyidentical cover members each pivotally supporting one of said levers,each of said cover members being shaped for interchangeable mountingupon either of said base sections and each of said operating leversbeing operatively engageable with either said mechanism or said springmeans whereby said base sections may be mounted at either the right orthe left hand side of a door and when said cover members are mounted onsaid base sections and mechanism will be actuated by the operating leverassociated with said active base section and said spring means will actthrough the operating lever associated with the inactive base section tobias said levers and the panic-bar to their normal positions.

5. The subject matter set forth in claim 4 including manually operablemeans for operating said mechanism independently of the panic-bar, andkey-controlled means for rendering said manually operable meansinoperable.

6. In an emergency-exit lock, an active case, a top and a bottom latchunit each having a latchbolt movable between projected and retractedpositions, said active case having a pair of parallel bars mountedtherein, a slide slidably mounted on said parallel bars, an operatinglever pivotally carried by said active case for actuating said slide,means including a pair of vertical rods for operatively connecting saidslide to the latchbolts of said latch units to effect simultaneousretraction thereof upon actuation of said slide by said operating lever,said slide being movable relatively to said operating lever to effectretraction of said latchbolts independently thereof, a rocker memberpivotally and slidably mounted in said active case, a manually operablemember for moving said rocker member, detent means connecting saidrocker member to said slide to permit movement of said slide byoperation of said manually operable member, and key controlled means forpivoting said rocker member to disconnect said detent means from saidslide and thereby prevent movement of said slide by operation of saidmanually operable member.

7. In an emergency-exit lock, an active case including a base section, atop and a bottom latch unit each having a latchbolt movable betweenprojected and retracted positions, a pair of parallel bars mounted insaid base section, a slide slidably mounted on said bars, meansincluding a pair of vertical rods for operatively connecting said slideto the latchbolt of said latch units, a supporting cover detachablymounted on said base section, a panicbar, an operating lever connectedto said panic-bar and pivotally mounted on said supporting cover,abutment means between said operating lever and said slide for movingsaid slide to effect retraction of said top and bottom latchbolts bypanic-bar operation of said lever, said slide being movable to retractsaid latchbolts independently of said operating lever, a rocker memberpivotally and slidably mounted on said base section, detent means forconnecting said rocker member to said slide engageable by movement ofsaid rocker member, a manually operable member for moving said rockermember to cause movement of the slide when said detent means areengaged, cam means rotatably mounted on said base section 'for movingsaid rocker member to cause engagement and disengagement of said detentmeans, and key controlled means for rotating said cam means to connectsaid rocker member to or disconnect it from the slide to selectivelycontrol operation of said top and bottom latch units by said manuallyoperable member.

8. In an emergency-exit lock, an active case, an inactive case, saidinactive case being substantially the same in size and configuration assaid active case, a pair of similar parallel bars mounted in each ofsaid cases, said cases being adapted to be mounted in horizontallyspaced relation on a door with said bars disposed in vertical position,a first slide slidably mounted on the bars in the active case, anoperating lever pivotally mounted intermediate it-s ends on said activecase and having a finger at its inner end adapted upon depression of itsouter end to lift said first slide, a second slide slidably mounted onthe bars of said inactive case, a spring means in said inactive casebiasing the said second slide therein downwardly, an operating leverpivotally mounted intermediate its ends on said inactive case and havinga finger at its inner end engaging said second slide, and a panic-barconnected to the outer ends of said levers, said springs acting throughsaid second slide to yieldingly retain said operating levers and saidpanic-bar in normal raised position, said active and inactive casesbeing interchange ably convertible by substitution of said second slideand spring means for said first slide.

9. The subject matter set forth in claim 8 including a weight slidablymounted on at least one of the bars in said active case and engagingsaid first slide therein to gravitationally bias said slide downwardlyin said case.

10. In an emergency-exit lock, an active base section, an inactive basesection, each of said base sections having a pair of parallel barsmounted therein and said base sections being adapted to be affixed to adoor in horizontally spaced relation with said bars disposed verticallythereon, a slide slidably mounted on the bars in said active basesection and adapted to operate a latchbolt, a slide slidably mounted onthe bars in said inactive base section, spring means in said inactivebase section biasing the slide therein downwardly, an operating unitincluding a panic-bar, a pair of operating levers aflixed one to each ofthe opposite ends of said panic-bar and a pair of cover members on eachof which one of said levers is pivotally mounted, each of said covermembers being shaped to be interchangeably mounted on either of saidbase sections and each of said levers being adapted to operativelyengage either of said slides, whereby said slide in the active basesection is adapted to be operated by the operating lever associated withthe active base section and said spring means, acting through the slidein the inactive base section, biases said levers and the panicbar totheir normal raised positions.

11. In an emergency exit lock, an active case, at least one latch unithaving a latchbolt movable between pr-ojected and retracted positions, alatchbolt operating mechanism in said active case, a panic bar operatedlever pivotally mounted on said active case for actuating saidmechanism, means for operatively connecting said mechanism to the saidlatchbolt and operable upon actuation of said mechanism by said lever toelfect retnaction of said latchbolt, said mechanism being movable toeffect retraction of said latchbolt independently of said lever, amanually operable latch retracting member movable between two extremepositions, an intermediate means forming an operating linkage betweensaid manually operable member and said latchbolt operating mechanism,said means being selectively movable into and out of operative linkingengagement between said manually operable member and said mechanism, andkey operated means for selectively moving said intermediate means intoand out of said operative linking engagement, said manually operablemember being freely movable between its extreme positions and being outof engagement with said mechanism when said key operated means has movedsaid intermediate means out of operative linking engagement.

12. In an emergency exit lock, an active case, at least one latch unithaving a latchbolt movable between projected and retracted positions, aslide in said active case, a panic bar operated lever pivotally mountedon said active case for actuating said slide, means for operativelyconnecting said slide to said latchbolt and operable upon actuation ofsaid slide by said lever to efiect retraction of said latchbolt, saidslide being movable to effect retraction of said latchbolt independentlyof said operating lever, a manually operable latch actuating membermovable between two extreme positions, an intermediate member forming anoperating linkage between said manually operable member and said slide,said member having one portion in engagement with said manually operablemember and another portion selectively movable into and out ofengagement with said slide, and key operated means for moving said otherportion into and out of engagement with said slide, said manuallyoperable member being freely movable between its extreme positions andbeing out of engagement with said slide when said key operated means hasmoved said intermediate means out of operative linking engagement.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,254,194 1/1922 Beau.

2,147,581 2/1939 Prinzler -92 X 2,202,075 5/1940 Yoe 70-92 2,824,4402/1958 Jewett et al. 70-92 2,910,857 11/1959 Muessel 70-92 2,911,24911/1959 Jewett et al. 292-336 2,932,536 4/1960 Pyknen 70-92 X 2,962,88912/1960 McConnell 70-92 3,029,096 4/ 1962 Welch 292-336 3,097,007 7/1963Eichacker et al. 70-92 X FOREIGN PATENTS 494,637 7/1938 Great Britain.

BOBBY R. GAY, Primary Examiner.

1. IN AN EMERGENCY-EXIT LOCK, AN ACTIVE BASE SECTION AND AN INACTIVEBASE SECTION, AT LEAST ONE LATCH UNIT HAVING A LATCHBOLT THEREIN MOVABLEBETWEEN PROJECTED AND RETRACTED POSITIONS, A PANIC-BAR OPERATEDMECHANISM IN SAID ACTIVE BASE SECTION, A VERTICALLY DISPOSED OPERATINGMEANS FOR OPERATIVELY CONNECTING SAID MECHANISM TO SAID LATCHBOLT ANDOPERABLE UPON ACTUATION OF SAID MECHANISM TO EFFECT RETRACTION OF SAIDLATCHBOLT, A REMOVABLE OPERATING UNIT INCLUDING A PANIC-BAR HAVING ANOPERATING LEVER SECURED TO EACH OF ITS OPPOSITE ENDS AND A PAIR OF COVERUNITS SHAPED FOR INTERCHANGEABLE MOUNTING ON EITHER OF SAID BASESECTIONS, EACH HAVING ONE OF SAID OPERATING LEVELS PITOVALLY MOUNTEDTHEREON, SAID MECHANISM BEING OPERABLE BY THE RESPECTIVE ONE OF SAIDLEVERS WHEN SAID ACTIVE BASE SECTION IS MOUNTED AT ETHER THE RIGHT ORTHE LEFT HAND SIDE OF A DOOR.